ERIC BENET Holiday cheer abounds at this pair of shows by the R&B smooth-talker, who released the seasonally celebratory “This Christmas” earlier this autumn. The collection — his first holiday offering — includes traditional cuts like “Oh, Holy Night” and “Please Come Home for Christmas” as well as two originals: The call for grace “Christmas Morning,” which features two of his daughters, and the swinging “It’s Christmas,” a duet with jazz-soul vocalist Stacey Ryan. Dec. 8, 6 and 9:30 p.m. City Winery Boston. 617-933-8047, citywinery.com/boston
THEY ARE GUTTING A BODY OF WATER “LOTTO,” the latest full-length from this Philly sludge-gaze outfit, attempts to make sense of the world’s chaos by unpacking modern society amid gargantuan riffs and rumbling drums. Dec. 9, 7 p.m. Arts at the Armory, Somerville. artsatthearmory.org
PINK MOUNTAINTOPS This side project of Stephen McBean, who fronts the hulking prog-punk outfit Black Mountain, adds a bit more power-psych twinkle while still hitting hard. Dec. 10, 7 p.m. Middle East Upstairs, Cambridge. 617-864-3278, mideastoffers.com
MAURA K. JOHNSTON
JASON RINGENBERG Ringenberg has traveled some in his musical career, from the high-test, slash-and-burn alt-country of Jason and the Scorchers to the music he makes for kids (and grown-ups) as Farmer Jason. Along the way, he picked up a Lifetime Achievement award from the Americana Music Association. Dec. 5, 8 p.m. $17. The Parlour, 1119 North Main St., Providence. 401-383-5858. www.theparlourri.com
THE TALKING HEARTS’ HONKY TONK HOLIDAY It’s a holiday dance party with these local purveyors of ’60s- and ’70s-vintage country music. And if you need to learn some moves or freshen up what you’ve got, show up a half hour early for free dance lessons. Dec. 6, 8 p.m. $30. Center for Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave., Somerville. 617-776-6896. www.burren.com
ANNA TIVEL AND JEFFREY MARTIN These partners, both with recent records (Tivel: “Animal Poem”; Martin: “Thank God We Left the Garden”) are touring together again. Tivel describes the proceedings as follows: “I kick things off nightly with new songs in old pants. Then Jeffrey reminds us all how to access the very good molten core of humanity.” Dec. 9 and 10, 8 p.m. $35. Club Passim, 47 Palmer St., Cambridge. 617-492-7679. www.passim.org
STUART MUNRO
TIGER MOAN BATTLE OF THE SAXES Singer and multi-instrumentalist Amy Kucharik and her vintage blues outfit hold a first Sunday residency featuring special guests each month. This time, it’s a duel between two local saxophone stars: John Clark and Erica Risti. Dec. 7, 7:30 p.m. $20-$25. The Burren Back Room, 247 Elm St., Somerville. burren.com/music
ERIC MINTEL QUARTET’S A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS Mosesian Arts Centers’ Chords and Cocktails series presents pianist-composer Mintel’s group featuring saxophonist-flutist Nelson Hill, bassist Jack Hegyi, and drummer Dave Mohn, well known for their Dave Brubeck tributes, performing Vince Guaraldi’s beloved score for 1965’s classic “Peanuts” animated special. Dec. 9, 7 p.m. $29-$40. Mosesian Center for the Arts, 321 Arsenal St., Watertown. mosesianarts.org
DAVID LEACH QUARTET GBH Jazz Nights presents pianist, composer, and poet Leach with saxophonist Lihi Haruvi, drummer Dor Herskovits, and ubiquitous bassist John Lockwood, performing originals rooted in jazz improvisation, while incorporating influences from American folk, 20th-century classical, progressive metal, and more. Dec. 11, 5:30 p.m. Free, registration encouraged. GBH Studio at the Boston Public Library, Copley Square. wgbh.org/events
KEVIN LOWENTHAL
TALLIS SCHOLARS Under the leadership of founding director Peter Phillips, the sterling British vocal ensemble makes its customary Adventide appearance on the Boston Early Music Festival concert stage. This year’s program features English music dedicated to the Virgin Mary, by composers including Tallis, Taverner, Byrd, Britten, and Matthew Martin. St. Paul Church, Cambridge. Dec. 5, 8 p.m. 617-661-1812, www.bemf.org
BOSTON BAROQUE Former Boston Baroque assistant conductor Filippo Ciabatti makes his public company debut leading the company’s annual historically informed performance of Handel’s “Messiah,” featuring soloists Amanda Forsythe, Paula Murrihy, Thomas Cooley, and Roderick Williams with the Boston Baroque Orchestra and a 25-voice chorus. Dec. 5, 7:30 p.m., Dec. 7, 3 p.m. NEC’s Jordan Hall. 617-987-8600, baroque.boston
MISTRAL MUSIC This local ensemble helmed by Julie Scolnik welcomes the holidays with its traditional Baroque Big Band program, featuring a large baroque ensemble and several assorted soloists performing music by Bach, Handel, Rameau, and more. Dec. 6, 5 p.m. St. Paul’s Church, Brookline; Dec. 7, 4 p.m., West Parish Church, Andover. 978-474-6222, www.mistralmusic.org
A.Z. MADONNA
BLACK NATIVITY One of the most vibrant and cherished holiday traditions hereabouts, “Black Nativity” tells the Nativity story through the lens of the Black experience, with a cast of more than 75 performers. At the helm once again is Roxbury native Voncille Ross, who has been directing “Black Nativity” for nearly two decades. The production combines the “song-play” of legendary poet and playwright Langston Hughes with the music of Boston composer-arranger John Andrew Ross. All of it is gloriously sung by talented sopranos, baritones, and tenors, punctuated by percussion and expressive dance under the leadership of ballet mistress and principal dancer Desiree Springer. Narrating the show is Milton Wright, who also serves as the adult chorus director, working with his associate Marilyn Andry, while Steven Hunter Sr. is the orchestral director. Dec. 5-21. Presented by the National Center of Afro-American Artists at Robert J. Orchard Stage, Emerson Paramount Center. 617-824- 8400, www.blacknativity.org
SWEENEY CLAUS: THE DEMON FATHER OF SLEET STREET It says something heartening about our fair city that so many Bostonians make room on their holiday calendars for Ryan Landry’s brand of inspired mayhem. His new show is a marriage of the Santa Claus story with “Sweeney Todd,” the 1979 Stephen Sondheim-Hugh Wheeler classic about a vengeful barber whose dotty helpmeet turns his victims into meat pies. While incorporating video more prominently than he has in the past, Landry blends the melodies of musical-theater classics with his own deranged lyrics, in a combination of homage and desecration. Directed by Kiki Samko and featuring a stellar performance as Sweeney by Thain Bertin in his first outing with Landry’s Gold Dust Orphans. Playing Sweeney’s accomplice, Mrs. Leaveit, is Landry himself. Through Dec. 21. Production by Ryan Landry and the Gold Dust Orphans. At Iron Wolf Theatre, South Boston Lithuanian Citizens’ Association, South Boston. Age guideline is 18-plus. www.tickettailor.com/events/thegolddustorphans/1732579/
MIDWINTER REVELS: A SCANDINAVIAN STORY FOR CHRISTMAS In Revels’s annual celebration of the winter solstice, inspired this year by Gregory Maguire’s “Matchless,” a young boy finds “warmth and light in the darkest days” on an island “so far north that it snows from September to April.” Cast members perform Scandinavian songs and dances, accompanied by an intergenerational chorus. Directed by Debra Wise, with music direction by Elijah Botkin and a script by Wise, Patrick Swanson, and Nicole Galland. On hand will be such performers as David Coffin, David Keohane, Kristian Espiritu, Joshua Wolf Coleman, and Eliza Fichter. Dec. 12-28, with a “virtual encore viewing window” Dec. 28-Jan. 11. Sanders Theatre, Harvard Square, Cambridge. 617-496-2222, boxoffice.harvard.edu
DON AUCOIN
CIRQUE DU SOLEIL’S ’TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE… The celebrated Canadian troupe’s Christmas show illuminates the joy of the season with a show filled with spectacular lighting, lively (loud!) music that transforms familiar tunes, and feats of physical prowess that range from the riotous to the breathtaking. A sweet story line based on the titular book is icing on the cake. Great for all ages. Through Dec. 14. $36 and up. Boch Center Wang Theatre. www.bochcenter.org
JOSÉ MATEO BALLET THEATRE’S THE NUTCRACKER Now in its 37th year, this charming, intimate, and affordable production boasts a simplified story line, Tchaikovsky’s luminous score, and more than 100 children joining in a cast of professionals. This one tends toward warm and cozy, which makes it especially accessible for some younger viewers. Dec. 6-Dec. 21. $25 and up. Strand Theatre, Dorchester. www.ballettheatre.org
SEÁN CURRAN COMPANY / DECENT DANCE Boston native Seán Curran fosters his hometown connections with this collaboration involving one of his company’s founding members, Tony Guglietti, alongside his longtime partner Kristin Wagner (collectively Decent Dance) plus Brian Feigenbaum for “Through Lines.” Celebrating legacy, lineage, and connections, the intergenerational concert features members of Curran’s New York-based company joined by dancers from Boston and beyond. Dec. 6-7. $25.31 and up. Dance Complex, Cambridge. www.dancecomplex.org
UNITED DANCE COMPANY Championing inclusion and working with the Down syndrome population, the company showcases rigorously trained artists of diverse abilities in “The Extraordinary Nutcracker.” An original interpretation billed as the area’s only version of the ballet that is narrated, the family-friendly production transforms a young girl’s holiday journey into a tale about courage, creativity, and love. Dec. 6-7. $46.75. Calderwood Pavilion. www.uniteddance.org
KAREN CAMPBELL
MARTIN PURYEAR: NEXUS Puryear represented the United States at the Venice Biennale in 2019 with a display of enigmatic sculptural works that, taken together, echoed the fractious unease of a country at war with itself, confronting old ghosts thought long laid to rest. So, what now? “Nexus,” not quite so pointed — it spans several decades of the artist’s 50-plus-year career, the first long-view survey in almost two decades — but it isn’t afraid to connect the obvious dots. Included in this show is “A Column for Sally Hemings,” made for that 2019 Venice display, which pays homage to the enslaved woman who bore Thomas Jefferson five children; in it, an iron rod topped with a leg shackle embeds in a fluted classical column, an emblem of a fire that never seems to go out. Through Feb. 8. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 465 Huntington Ave. 617-267-9300, mfa.org
AN INDIGENOUS PRESENT For a long time — and until very recently — “Indigenous” and “present” might have been regarded by the broader public as anathema. The dynamic culture of Indigenous peoples has survived years of assault, neglect, and disregard as archeology, but it’s risen in recent years to greater and greater prominence to arrive at a moment when its vibrance is undeniable. This exhibition takes in much of that arc: Spanning 100 years of art made by Indigenous people, it underscores cultural resilience over generations of hardship to arrive on triumph in the here and now. Through March 8. Institute of Contemporary Art Boston, 25 Harbor Shore Drive. 617-478-3100, www.icaboston.org
GRACE HARTIGAN: THE GIFT OF ATTENTION In 1958, Hartigan was the only woman selected for “The New American Painting” exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, the launching pad for Abstract Expressionism as a popular movement and the foundation of the biggest careers in American art history (Jackson Pollock, anyone?). Hartigan enjoyed a few fruitful years of wide acclaim, but her star fell as others became ensconced in the firmament. Why is anyone’s guess, though being a woman was rarely good for one’s career. Hartigan’s restless energy compelled her to stray far stylistically from the tried-and-true AbEx herd, which made her harder to pin down — also not a great career move, perhaps, but ultimately far better for the soul. Through Jan. 11. Portland Museum of Art, 7 Congress Square, Portland, Maine. 207-775-6148, portlandmuseum.org
MURRAY WHYTE
OBJECTS OF DEVOTION In the best circumstances, art is made with singular intention and a surrender to process. Art-making, in that light, can be seen as spiritual; time in the studio, with its own ritual practices and altars, is like going to church. In this show, curator Stace Brandt explores the kinship between art and spirituality, from how pragmatic limitations like space, time, and money shape artwork to how personal history entwines with it. Artists include Jon Doucette, Jamieson Edson, and Virgilijs Tilks. Through Jan. 17. Distillery Gallery, 516 East 2nd Street, South Boston. www.distillery-gallery.com/exhibitions/2025/objects
CATE McQUAID
COMEDY FOR JAMAICA FEATURING KAM PATTERSON One of the newest “Saturday Night Live” cast members for season 51, Patterson headlines this benefit to help Jamaica in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa. Dec. 7, 6 p.m. $51.55. Laugh Boston, 425 Summer St. 617-725-2844, www.laughboston.com
CRISTINA MARIANI “I’m just sensitive, emotionally. I’ll cry in movies when my favorite character dies. Like when Leonardo DiCaprio died, I cried so hard they kicked me out of ‘Django Unchained.’” Dec. 5-6, 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. $28.95-$31.95 The Comedy Studio, 5 John F. Kennedy St., Cambridge. www.thecomedystudio.com
POPCORN COMEDY Peter Liu, who cofounded this monthly show, recently moved to New York City, but is back to headline the last edition of the year. Hosted by Guerby Laguerre and Jason Fishman, with Nicholas Stubblefield, Shelby LeCuyer, Sarah May, and Kevin Lemory. Dec. 11, 7:30 p.m. $23.18. Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square, Somerville. www.eventbrite.com
NICK A. ZAINO III
